An important visit for the county

Three weeks from today, on May 29, five state officials will come to Greene County for a meeting that could be a game-changer for the county’s future.

The five-member Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission will arrive in Jefferson about 10 a.m. that day for a public hearing on the proposal for a casino/hotel/convention center/entertainment complex, proposed for the north edge of Jefferson at the four-way stop of Highways 4 and 30.

The referendum on the proposal, held last Aug. 6, generated a huge turnout of voters in the county, three-fourths of whom voted in favor of the project. Under Iowa law, a favorable vote in a countywide referendum triggers a public hearing conducted by the Racing and Gaming Commission, and then a vote by the Commission on whether to approve the proposal.

The Commission decision will take place at the agency’s monthly meeting in Burlington on June 12, two weeks after the May 29 public hearing.

The state of Iowa closely regulates gambling activities within its borders.

Each gambling facility requires a state license, held jointly by a local nonprofit organization and by the facility’s developer. In Greene County’s case, the local nonprofit is Grow Greene County Gaming Corp., an eight-member group from all over the county.

The developer is Wild Rose Entertainment, a West Des Moines-based privately-held corporation that already operates casinos in Emmetsburg and Clinton.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is empowered to issue licenses for facilities that it deems to be in the best interest of the state and the local areas where the installations are located. The Commission has done so in 18 locations around the state.

Notably, none of those is presently in west central Iowa.

(There are also three casinos operated by Native American tribes which are not under state regulation.)

Obtaining a license is not a simple process. The Commission vote is the final item on the agenda. Prior to that, the development organization spends tens of thousands of dollars in fees and data preparation for the Commission to consider.

The principal officers of Wild Rose Entertainment, and the board members of Grow Greene County Gaming Corp., have been individually investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). The local corporation individuals, for example, each filled out a 77-page personal information form that was turned over to the DCI, and then underwent an hour-long interview with DCI agents.

That’s just the official part of the preparation leading up to the forthcoming Commission decision.

For months, Wild Rose and the local group have been planning for the May 29 visit. Since the August referendum, they have attended every monthly meeting of the Commission, in Des Moines, Waterloo, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Riverside and Council Bluffs.

Many Greene County residents have asked what they can do to help on May 29.

Probably the most important single thing is to show up in downtown Jefferson.

The actual public hearing will begin at 12:30 p.m. that day in the Sierra Theatre, which seats 252.

A big turnout would help show the Commission the level of local interest in the project.

Plans call for the Commission to tour the community, visit the location of the proposed complex, meet briefly with Grow Greene County Gaming Corp. for an informational presentation, have lunch and then begin the public hearing.

The hearing is expected to last several hours; it will be open to anyone who wants to speak for or against the project. Speakers will probably be asked to observe an individual time limit.

More information about the day will be announced in the next three weeks.

There’s a lot at stake for west central Iowa in the Commission’s June 12 decision. Wild Rose Entertainment has gone above and beyond what the state requires a developer to do for the county where its facility operates. Wild Rose will share five percent of its gross revenues with Grow Greene County Gaming Corp. to be distributed to civic organizations and projects, and the local group has announced it will share up to 20 percent of that amount with the six counties contiguous to Greene County.

With gross revenues from the casino expected to be at least $30 million annually, that means at least $1.5 million for worthy projects: $1.2 million a year for distribution in Greene County, and $300,000 a year for neighboring counties.

In addition, Iowa law requires half a percent of the gross for the county government in which the casino is located, and another half a percent for the city. That’s $150,000 for Greene County and $150,000 for the city of the Jefferson, assuming the $30 million annual gross is an accurate projection.

And then there are the estimated 325 jobs the casino, hotel, convention center, restaurants and other related attachments would require. And the additional sales for existing area businesses and services, and the thousands of visitors that would be coming here.

This is a big deal — maybe the biggest this county has seen for years, or will see for years to come.

We need to do it right — and we will.